Do I Have to Report My Arizona Car Accident?

Blog Arizona accident reporting laws, Arizona automobile accident attorney, Must I Report My Arizona Car Accident?

It is best not to take chances when it comes to how you proceed after a car accident. For instance. if you are hurt and injured in a car accident it is prudent to seek medical treatment and speak with an Arizona automobile accident attorney to better understand your legal rights when it comes to recovering costs associated with your damages and losses. You should also report your car accident. You could be at risk of losing insurance coverage or potentially facing criminal charges depending on your accident situation if you don’t make a report. The potential fallout from failing to take this action can be quite steep. This is why, while each state in the nation has its own laws governing how a car accident should be handled, reporting your accident when there are injuries or death is the best policy.

Does Arizona Require You to Report Your Accident?

If you are involved in a minor fender bender, you likely aren’t going to have to report your accident. However, if you are in an accident where serious injuries or death result, Arizona accident reporting laws require you to make the call. Regardless of if you know that the accident was your fault, you face greater risks and punishments if you fail to report the accident especially in a state that requires you to do so by law.

The other consideration that failure to report your accident could cause is with how your insurance provider responds. It happens, an accident where both you and the other party just want to get it out of the way and over with expeditiously without involving your insurance providers. So you decide to just agree on a payout and you think you’re done. Well, if you have an insurance policy that requires reporting you could be putting yourself in a bad position. You could potentially have caused harm to your automobile from the accident where repairs weren’t enough to restore your car back to safe working conditions. If you discover there are other issues with your automobile that were not fixed during your repair and then you try to report the problems your car still faces, your insurance company will most likely deny your claim. Not to mention, you could be completely dropped from coverage.

In 2015, there were over 730,000 hit-and-run crashes which brake down to one occurring every 43 seconds in the United States. An Arizona hit-and-run accident is certainly terrifying and while the driver may instinctively want to flee, this is not a good idea. Not only will the driver be liable for the costs of the damages, but additional punitive costs may also be piled on top of the settlement amount they are responsible to pay. Additionally, it is against the law to leave an accident scene where someone is injured or dies. That means that on top of expensive civil legal fees, the driver may also face even more negative outcomes. Some of these include jail time, fines, and the loss of their license.

Where to Find an Arizona Automobile Accident Attorney?

Must I Report My Arizona Car Accident If you are interested in pursuing an Arizona personal injury claim, reporting in a timely manner will help you get started sooner with the claims process. This makes it much easier to build your case including the destruction to your property and personal injuries. Quick reporting gives insurance companies little recourse to oppose the damages your Arizona serious injury attorneys at ELG cite in their demand letter.